MOST WANTED: DRILLING DOWN/ONLINE MUSIC; The Best of Emusic.com

By TIM RACE

Published: April 16, 2001

The site, featuring the music of some 700 independent recording labels and 8,500 artists, is a leader in selling albums (usually for $8.99 each) and singles (99 cents) that users can download in the popular MP3 format. And more than 10,000 people have subscribed to a $10 monthly Emusic service allowing an unlimited number of downloads.

Sharing revenues with the artists or copyright holders, Emusic has refined many of the details of digital distribution -- except how to make money. In its fiscal second quarter, the company had a net loss of $191 million, on revenue of $4.7 million. Although Emusic's stock reached a high of $35 in June 1999, the Universal Music Group agreed last week to acquire the company for 57 cents a share. Pending completion of the Universal deal, Emusic's service continues. Here are its best-selling albums, as reported by Billboard.com. TIM RACE